Question 1

Does the arm/needle damage the vinyls in such a way as the cheap $50 briefcase style vinyls players? Can I upgrade if need be?

Accepted Answer

To answer the first question about any of the low budget turntables, the spec that you probably want to pay attention to is vertical tracking force (VTF). This is the amount of weight that the stylus exerts on the surface of the record. For this player, the tracking force is listed as 3.5 grams, which is considered safe for your vinyl.

I've heard, but haven't checked, that the cheaper suitcase turntables exert around 6 grams of force. Personally, I'd stay away from them. Our collection is currently over 300 LP's and is worth far more than the vast majority of turntables out there. There's no way I'd buy a turntable that I thought would ruin that ever growing collection.

The answer to your second question is yes and no. You can't change the cartridge on this player, only the stylus (needle). Although there a couple of different styluses that will fit this player, as far as I know, only the conical ATN3600L is compatible with the preset (and unchangeable) 3.5 grams of tracking force of this player. The few elliptical styluses I've seen that will fit the cartridge of this player are recommended for players that can be set to about 2 grams of force. One of these styluses is sold by Audio Technica themselves and if they thought it was safe for your records to use it, they'd happily market it to you themselves. Instead, they highly recommend against it.

My 16yo daughter has had this player for two years and is a heavy vinyl listener. She's very happy with it. She outputs exclusively from its Bluetooth feature, whether to BT headphones or the BT dongle I installed on the back of her amp. I'm about to replace her stylus for the first time.

If you want to upgrade to a better fully automatic TT, the AT-LP3 doesn't cost much more and is adjustable for tracking force and anti-skate. The cartridge is replaceable and interchangeable with a wide variety of cartridges. I have this one and upgraded it with a cartridge with a micro line stylus, the AT-VM95ML. The headshell for this player is really attractive, but is a bright red. Cartridges can often come in many different colors, some of which you may feel clash with the color of the included headshell. Luckily, the headshell is also replaceable and the only ones I found so far that are black and seem nearly identical are Denon's PCL-310BK or LP Gear's HS3. These are angled headshells made for straight tonearms.

Question 2

Weight of needle on record? One oz or does it kill records?

Accepted Answer

It is imperative to buy a arm contact weight scale to accurately set the weight to the record groove contact.

Question 3

Does this turntable have built in speakers, or must you have external speakers?  could i play it through an ultimate ears boom 3 bluetooth speaker?

Accepted Answer

Just to clarify… you can hook this up to a speaker and play vinyl through the speaker?
I just bought a new record player, but it’s backward. It plays music through its speakers on BT.

Question 4

Does it require a preamp?

Accepted Answer

Thanks very much for your question. It has one built in. World Wide Stereo is 40 years old and a proud authorized AudioTechnica dealer.

Item Dimensions L x W x H	14.7"L x 14.15"W x 3.84"H
Item Weight	8.11 Pounds
Material Type	Plastic
Color	Black
Style Name	Standalone Turntable
Signal Format	Analog
Power Source	DC
Voltage	110 Volts
Special Features	Built-in switchable phono pre-amplifier for phono- or line-level output, Redesigned tonearm base and headshell for improved tracking and reduced resonance, High-fidelity audio with Bluetooth wireless technology, Fully automatic operation with two speeds: 33-1/3 and 45 RPM, Anti-resonance, die-cast aluminum platter, Compatible with aptX codec
Compatible Devices	Speakers, Headphones
Motor Type	AC Motor
Connectivity Technology	Wireless
Maximum Rotational Speed	45 RPM

Audio-TechnicaAT-LP60XBT-BK Fully Automatic Wireless Belt-Drive Turntable (Black) (ATLP60XBTBK)

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